Vandebilt’s Leslie chooses Louisiana-Monroe

HOUMA -- University of Louisiana-Monroe womenís basketball coach Mona Martin clearly remembers the first time she watched Vandebilt Catholicís Sumar Leslie play basketball.

It was back when Leslie was an eighth grader starting at point guard on Vandebiltís varsity team.

"She was unbelievable even at the time," Martin said. "She was so smart with the ball and was calm and didnít make a lot of mistakes. She was very mature and managed the game. Even as an eighth grader, I knew I wanted her here at ULM. I just loved watching her play."

Five years later, Martinís wish came true as Leslie, now a senior, signed a letter-of-intent to play college basketball at Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday.

"I think itís major signing for our program," Martin said. "Sheís one of the best point guards in the state. She can come in and help us immediately. When we first met her, we just fell in love with her and her family. We really wanted them to be here."

Leslie, who signed the scholarship in front of her family, high school teammates and Vandebilt coach Kathy Luke in the schoolís library, said of all the colleges that recruited her, Louisiana-Monroe was the one that went out its way to make her feel comfortable.

"When I went on my visit to ULM, each of the coaches individually came and talked to me," Leslie said. "They told me they really wanted me to be there. They treated me well and welcomed me like I was family."

In her senior season at Vandebilt, Leslie led the Lady Terriers to a second-place finish in District 8-4A with a 25-6 overall record. As a first-team All-State selection, Leslie led Vandebilt in points (20.8), assists (3.2), steals (3.8), rebounds (4.7) and field goal percentage (46 percent).

Vandebilt advanced to the state quarterfinals before losing to Parkway in a game in which the 5-foot-8 Leslie score a career-high 41 points.

Leslie leaves Vandebilt as the all-time leader in scoring, assists, steals and games played.

"Sumar has done everything possible as far as basketball here at Vandebilt," Luke said. "Sheís been a tremendous asset. She has turned our program around, and since the day sheís stepped on our campus, our program has started going in an upward direction."

Luke said every state school had interest in signing Leslie, including several out-of-state schools such as Louisville, Miami (Fla.), and Arkansas.

LSU visited her and showed some interest, but didnít offer a scholarship because it signed junior-college players instead.

Luke also said Nicholls didnít show interest in Leslie until late in the recruiting process. She said former Nicholls coach Mark Cook and his staff didnít recruit her, but after Cook resigned from the school in March, Nicholls athletics director Rob Bernardi started to recruit her and eventually offered her a scholarship.

"We were very humbled about Rob coming here and offering a scholarship to her himself," Luke said. "The coaching staff under Cook didnít recruit her, but Rob Bernardi did. I think Sumar was waiting to see who got the Nicholls job, but it came to the point where it was time. She knew she wanted to go to ULM, and it was time for her to sign."

Although she would have loved to play closer to home, Leslie said ULM was the right fit for her.

"To be the best, you have to go to the best," Leslie said. "You canít just look at distance. You just have to go with the best choice. I feel like ULM was the best choice for me."

Martin said Leslie, who is academically qualified, will have an opportunity to receive significant playing time during her first season at Louisiana-Monroe. The Lady Warhawks, who finished 17-12 overall last season, donít have a returning starting point guard, so Martin believes Leslie can come in and fill up that role.

"We needed someone that can come in and help us immediately," Martin said. "We felt like she was a Sun Belt Conference type point guard. She is an unbelievable scorer who shows high basketball I.Q. Her strong fundamentals and calmness under pressure make her a perfect fit to run our offense."

Luke said she likes Leslieís decision to attend ULM.

"They have a tremendous basketball program there," Luke said. "They are very competitive in the Sun Belt. With Sumar at point now, theyíre thinking they can win a conference championship."

Leslie said she wanted to thank the entire Vandebilt community for helping her sign a college scholarship. She especially wanted to thank her parents (Patricia and Raymond) and her older brothers (Raymond and Isaac) for motivating her to work hard and strive for the best.

"My mother, father and entire family have really helped me through this whole process," Leslie said. "It was a hard decision, but once I finally realized that ULM has a great program, thatís what I chose. Iím happy with my decision, and I thank God for this blessing."

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